The prior art embraces normal hypodermic syringes which may be employed in biopsy by fitting either an ordinary hypodermic needle, or one incorporating a moving core or similar device.
Whether or not an X-ray viewer is being used at the same moment, the biopsy is carried out in two stages: first, the needle--duly attached to the hypodermic syringe--is inserted into the tissue wherefrom a sample is required for analysis, this normally being the work of one hand only; and second, drawing in the minute particles or droplets of fluid, by suction, of or from such tissue as is to be analysed. This operation calls for the use of both hands, in order to hold needle-and-syringe steady with one, and draw out the syringe's moving part, or plunger, with the other--duly creating the vacuum which causes said tissue particles or fluid for analysis to be sucked through the needle. If, for the purposes of a particular biopsy, the necessity arises for maintaining surrounding tissue in a stable posture during extraction of the sample therefrom, then two persons will need to perform the operation, one manipulating the actual hypodermic syringe, the other holding said surrounding tissue steady--as would be the case, for instance, in a mammary biopsy.